Like Lakshmibai
by starspangledpumpkin
Summary: This is for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Prompt #8. We all know about Harry Potter and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. We know about Draco Malfoy and his gang. We know about Neville, Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley. But what about the other students at Hogwarts who went to school when Harry Potter did? What do we know about them? What do


**This is for Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Prompt #8. We all know about Harry Potter and his friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. We know about Draco Malfoy and his gang. We know about Neville, Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley. But what about the other students at Hogwarts who went to school when Harry Potter did? What do we know about them? What do we know about Parvati Patil?**

 **The title is based on Rani Lakshmibai – The Rebel Queen of Jhansi. Lakshmibai is a bad-ass and I recommend you look her up.**

Parvati never expected that Professor McGonagall would make her prefect after Hermione left Hogwarts. Certainly, Lily Moon or Sally— that's right… Sally-Anne was gone too. There were only three of them left in this dorm now.

That welcome feast was the most somber yet. The Sorting Hat had no song and the sorting was spoken rather than shouted. They did not sing the school song and the air was thick with tension as suspicious glares were cast over tense shoulders. Professor Snape was appointed the new headmaster and as was tradition, he made a speech.

"In light of recent events," he said in that cold tone. "I shall be standing in as Headmaster. Due to unfortunate circumstances, first years have not been able to purchase wands and therefore will be subject to theoretical curriculum as was so kindly… put together by Dolores Umbridge, a former professor of Hogwarts. We have two new professors this year. Defense Against the Dark Arts will no longer be Defense but solely known as Dark Arts and shall be taught by Amycus Carrow. Muggle Studies is now compulsory for all students in all years and shall be taught by Alecto Carrow. Both have also been appointed as Deputy Headmaster and Headmistress. I _suggest_ you obey the rules as they will be in charge of punishment. All students will be subject to investigation, especially Muggle-borns."

Parvati craned her neck over Neville's head to take a look at the pair and wrinkled her nose. The pair were hideous to look at and seemed to have quite a bit of troll blood. If she hadn't had longer hair then Parvati wouldn't have been able to tell Alecto apart from Amycus.

As _Headmaster_ Snape sat down, only a handful of the Slytherins clapped. Mainly those from the pureblood families. To Parvati's surprise, most of them seemed as tense and afraid as any of the others. It occurred to her that there were many who were half-blood as well.

Parvati put none of the spread on her plate and instead scanned the student body. There were about a sixth of them who were not Anglo. There were quite a few black kids, and then there were Asians like her and Padma and Su Li, Anthony Goldstein was Jewish and Shaylyn Ramsey from Slytherin was Muslim. Would they be in as much danger as Muggle-borns?

Mama and Baba certainly wouldn't stand for that— though… the students here would most certainly be trapped.

And when Professor McGonagall pulled her and Neville aside and gave them the prefect positions Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley left behind, Parvati grew even more terrified. The witch didn't seem to have much of her spark left but she at least hoped the pair would watch out for the defenseless first years.

—

Neville was the first to show inexplicable bravery. Writing protests on the walls, leading defense sessions… Parvati was tentative to follow suit but… then there was the final straw.

Amycus Carrow (Parvati refused to refer to him as Professor) decided their Dark Arts lesson should be on the Cruciatus Curse. Their targets? The first years. Eleven and twelve-year-olds who came to this school hoping to learn magic and instead found themselves in a hellhole with no escape in sight. A place of torture and fear.

"No!" she screamed only barely echoing Neville.

"Cast the curse or I'll cast it on you," Carrow threatened.

"Go ahead!" said Neville, lifting his chin in defiance.

" _Stupefy!"_

Carrow looked stunned and Neville took advantage.

" _Expelliarmus!"_

Parvati caught the wand and tucked it into her belt. Pansy Parkinson drew her own wand but was immediately taken out by the two Gryffindors. Too late, no turning back. Parvati looked at all the first years with a fire in her eyes that made them huddle closer together like kittens without their mother.

"Let's go!" she bellowed.

"Follow me!" Neville yelled.

Parvati, Neville, and the fifteen first years used for their "lesson" ran down the hallway. Parvati wished she knew those secret passage ways the Weasley twins used for their shenanigans. Fortunately, nobody stopped them on the ascent to the seventh floor. Neville skidded to a stop and opened a door that was in the same place as they held Dumbledore's Army. They ushered the first years inside and shut the door which disappeared behind them.

In the darkness, Parvati waved her wand conjuring pretty, pink orbs of light which floated to the ceiling and lit the room. No longer was it a classroom for Defense training but now held seventeen beaten up mattresses on the floor with some blankets. The most curious part, however, was the portrait on the wall. It was void of any person but had a beaten path to a house in the distance ad a lone, dead tree off to the side. Yellowed grass dotted with a few white flowers lined along a wooden post fence.

"How many of you are Muggle-born?" Parvati asked.

All but one raised their hand.

"We can't let them back out there," said Neville.

"No…" Parvati agreed. "I think… Well… Padma knows where the kitchens are. I bet we can find the elves and bring them food. Or… no. No, we have to get them out of here. We have-" she paused and stared at the painting. A girl with strawberry hair dressed a faded blue pinafore over a white, ruffled blouse strolled along the dusty path. She stopped and beckoned them to follow her.

"Who is that?" Parvati asked.

"I don't know," said Neville. "I think we should follow her."

"Crazily enough… I agree."

The girl smiled and the portrait opened up to reveal a passage. Parvati and Neville reached out for each other and held hands tightly seeking comfort as they faced the unknown. There was no telling who was at the end of this passage way. Friend or foe, Parvati would go down fighting. A door opened at the end of a passage way. She was a Gryffindor. She was…

"Dumbledore?" Parvati squawked.

The man glared at her and she immediately knew that he was not Dumbledore. He had a harder look about him and his eyes weren't that bright blue but more of a greyish color. He stepped away from a mirror that had an image of Harry Potter in it.

"Who're you?" Neville asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," the man replied.

"I'm Parvati Patil and this is Neville Longbottom," Parvati said. "We were just looking for help and the castle… well… you see, they were making us use the Cruciatus Curse on first years and so we hexed the teacher and took them to the Room of Requirement. Neville found it our fifth year and he thought it'd be a safe place for the first years."

The wizard studied both of them through narrowed eyes and then nodded.

"Keep them in the Room of Requirement. If they're Muggle-borns they'll be in more trouble once they leave. Come back in the evening and I'll have food for you. You may want to be specific about the Room. Don't want just anybody coming in."

"Thank you, sir," said Neville.

"We still don't know your name," said Parvati.

"Aberforth Dumbledore," he replied. "Don't make such a fuss."

"Dumbledore?!" Neville gasped.

"I said don't make a fuss!"

Parvati grabbed Neville's arm and pulled him back to the portrait.

"We'll be back, sir, thank you."

With the first years settled and an ally on the outside it was the first time Parvati had any real hope.

Until she came back to reality and found out the Carrows had her sister. She knew it before somebody told her. Just something in her heart that made her anxiety spike.

Both girls ended up in the Room of Requirement nursing injuries and mental scars more serious than anybody their age should face. Padma couldn't move for three days and that just spurred Parvati to team up with Neville and revolt against the system. More and more kids were hiding away in the Room of Requirement. Some even managed to escape through the tunnel to the Hog's Head but one bad mission nearly compromised everything so they had to stop.

It was tight quarters and food had to be rationed but it was better than being at the mercy of the Carrows. Every day was its own battle. Rescue first years, paint protests, smuggle food. But Parvati was nothing if not tenacious and she was determined to finish this. She and Padma would create pamphlets with defensive spells on them and pass them around the school. If the war was coming then it would come to Hogwarts and all of them needed to be ready.

It was fight or die trying.


End file.
